Advantages

Disadvantages

A lot faster than The Body Shop Butter ranges & still as luxurious to the touch.

A month ago whilst getting over the disappointment of a luxury hand soap purchase that wasn't very luxurious feeling to my skin and then being bowled over by the same company's hand lotion for extra luxuriously soft feeling skin, I read a fantastic review by Ciao member "basketofbuttons," regarding The Body Shop's Beautifying dry oil product that intrigued me. Did she buy "Shea Butter" or "Mango" dry body oil? Whichever type it was, I was interested as a future buyer because the last time I tried a dry body oil product was in London fifteen years ago and even though it was expensive, it was a dry oil spray by beauty company, Virgin Vie and had a wonderful scent about it. Last year after a brief takeover, Virgin Vie and its successor name nomenclature ceased trading altogether, so the idea of another dry oil product from any other company got me interested after a few years of going without and making do with The Body Shop's expensive body butters and initially purchased The Body Shop Shea Beautifying Oil alongside their "Olive" version as a twin purchase.

The Price, The Product & The Promise

Normally, for the 100ml sized bottle, you would expect to pay £9-00 from The Body Shop directly, but Basketofbuttons sent me a message of suggestion to point my buying direction towards an EBay UK seller who sells the same bottles and different fragrance types for £4-50 each! It was too good an opportunity to miss at the time and I duly purchased one of the Shea butter fragrance and this product, The Body Shop Olive Beautifying Dry Body Oil.

Dry body oil isn't going to be for everyone though, even less for men who don't give much thought to adding more oil to their body other than to appeal to the opposite sex. The mere thought of adding a "dry oil" as opposed to greasy, standard oil that gives your skin a coating that can be felt more easily may sound more cost effective. However there are several benefits to dry oil sprays and "loose" oil that this product is packaged in, not least for the fact that The Body Shop's product here has quite a few important additives that makes it suitable for face and body.

Generally then, The Body Shop promises that this product:".... Gives instant hydration with and a shimmering finish with a nutty scent..."

The Body Shop also includes a lot more info at the front and rear of the bottle, stating that this oil can "moisturise, smooth and illuminate," as an oil suitable for face, hair and body. It contains three "precious" oils such as almond oil, olive oil, sunflower oil and Fairtrade community sourced marula oil. Overall though the oil can be used as a finisher that gives extra shine to hair, it isn't one of those scalp massaging oils, but rather an instant fix to overall skin for softness.

General Impressions & Quality

Since discovering "Shea Body Butter," a few years ago made by The Body Shop, the instant appeal of this loose oil makes it far more instant to apply to skin and gets the purpose of moisturisation working with a far more effective process. A lot of claims from the company do suggest that The Body Shop have tested this product thoroughly. From its 100ml sizing bottle that makes it apt for taking on the plane, to the way the dry oil absorbs quickly, this is one product that has more uses than meets the eye other than just instant moisturisation being its key approach.

The moment I received my pack from the EBAY seller and having read online some of the feedback where this product is concerned, my bottles were delivered intact, but only because the seller had taped the caps together to the bottle. Evidently then, leakage can occur because of the way TBS has manufactured the simple release flip up, flip down caps pretty much the same as Johnson & Johnson's famous baby oil bottles. Easier to contain when bought from the high street though, it is only one major downside that limits this product's appeal should you wish to buy it online.

Generally the bottle is non-offensive but looks like a great accompaniment to the Body butter by The Body Shop. Similarly designed with a slightly yellow gold colour, the bottle has a narrow diameter and the instructions are clearly written at the back. A central emblem with company name and a photo of a slightly green olive has been added. Understated yet exuding some premium quality, the handy small 100ml sizing is great for hiding away from others as well as being narrow enough to slip in a travel bag.

Performance & Downsides

From the simple way that it is presented via its thin and small plastic bottle with a flip up light gold cap, The Body Shop Olive Beautifying Dry Body oil doesn't just contain "Olive" oil alone. It has added natural oils as some of this info in this review will discuss. Not only that, but there is an added gloss to this product that does leave my skin looking overly greasy. The gloss doesn't "shimmer" on my skin thankfully as it doesn't contain any feminine touched grains like glitter. Clear with a slightly golden honey like colour, "Olive" Beautifying oil mimics the same "Shea Butter" beautifying oil I purchased at the same time, each going by their very names.

Where the scent is concerned, the fragrance that has been added here isn't of the same olive oil you would expect to find to cook with, but rather a unique combination of grassy tones mixed with nutty depths, as opposed to the "fruity" promise. At a push, there is a little cucumber at the tinniest level, but more of shea butter fragrance added, making this product and the shea butter version I also bought, a bit similar to each other. Though the latter product is more flowery, I rather like the grassy, forest scent that comes off this oil as it isn't very strong on scent, dies off rather quickly and the body oil does what it actually suggests when it comes to instant hydration and softness. It isn't like the "Shea Butter" oil version either because I find the latter to have a greater scent value, making this more apt for both men and women to use.

Duly opening the cap and emptying some of the oil, the dispersed amount actually has a slight sunflower oil look but it doesn't fall out very easily which is very good and quite economical. However it is apparent that it does have a fairly thin nature where consistency is concerned, not just apparent by shaking or moving the bottle physically. However, on application in my hands, I find that that this clear non-grainy dry oil seems to go on quite well a little at a time before it is more apparent that a little can go quite a long way!

One of the first aspects that I wanted to try other than just using this product on my body was using it as a facial moisturiser noting that within the wonderfully natural ingredients that sunflower oil has been added to this preparation. Sunflower oil is known to keep moisture in the skin intact when used continually but used sparingly rather than coating your whole face in the stuff.

The oil is thus a little greasy to the touch but its drying nature is very apparent when actually applying to skin, able to dry out quite instantly without much feeling of grease afterwards. Never mind balms, never mind similar Clinique oils from their Men's Products charged at twice the price - if you want baby soft, peach smooth and positively cashmere softness to just shaved skin - this is the product of wonderment!

The shimmer quality of this product is pretty good aswell and on my skin doesn't look overly greasy. Infact my skin glows to a certain degree making it look as if I have applied a rather expensive men's moisturiser. The glow lasts for some time too and colleagues have noticed an added glow, whilst all the time though there is softness to the touch, there is no greasy after feeling coming off on my fingers.

Applied to my arms and legs under clothing however, this is also a fairly effective body oil product too, with the instant advantage of just leaving skin smooth and hydrated with instant application. I was worried that on some of my drier skin areas, this oil would irritate but it seems to have been produced very much for those with sensitive skin in the first instance. There is no need to grab a towel if you apply too much of the oil either as it can be rubbed everywhere. It is just as easy to wash off either with or without soap, making it a great travel companion at the very least!

On hair, (and I have damaged hair) this oil does add softness but it becomes apparent that this is where more oil has to be applied versus skin approach. Though I don't use it on my hair, I do like the fact that the oil can be used.

Generally, the only downsides to this product are the high cost prices that TBS charge as well as the poorer quality flip up caps to contain the oil in the first place. The beautifying oil doesn't have any downsides to me - and that's a first for a very long time!

Other Sorts & Final Thoughts

The Body Shop sells "Beautifying Oil" all with 100ml sizing and £9 pricing with other scents/fragrances ranging from:

To conclude, as I was initially happy with TBS Shea butter beautifying oil, I am just as delighted with their Olive beautifying oil though the scent is not as strong and quite different, it reaffirms that the rest of the range is just as good as the original Shea Butter version I had chosen out of the two purchased. As a product alone it is also easy to see why these products and the associated fragrances are very popular. Instantly available for instant hydration and soft skin, this product leaves me feeling supple, very moisturised and above all gives me a bit of a gloss as a bonus when applied to the face.